SDSU at Michigan

When: 9 a.m. PDT Saturday, Sept. 24

Where: Michigan Stadium

On the air: The Big Ten Network; 600-AM

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ANN ARBOR, Mich.  Long before he left his job at San Diego State, Brady Hoke had been working behind the scenes to reach a deal with the University of Michigan.

It was early 2010. Hoke had just finished 4-8 in his first season as head coach of the Aztecs. He wanted to schedule a tough test for his team in 2011, so he got on the phone and pushed for it.

Now he’s going to get it.

The deal is officially called “SDSU Agreement #40070469.” It’s a two-page contract that stipulates SDSU will play a football game against Michigan on Sept. 24, 2011. It also calls for Michigan to pay SDSU $1,016,800 by Feb. 1, 2012.

There is no escape clause provided for Michigan to cancel the game unless it becomes “impossible to play” because of inclement weather or “an act of God,” according to the contract.

After leaving SDSU in January to become the new head coach at Michigan, Hoke might want to say a prayer or two this week.

At least that’s the message he conveyed Saturday.

Are you glad you scheduled this game, Brady?

Hoke smiled and paused three seconds before responding.

“No,” he said.

Hoke’s team had just beaten Eastern Michigan Saturday 31-3. Hoke being Hoke, he didn’t want to talk too much about the next game while his team was still celebrating another win in front of 110,343 at Michigan Stadium.

He spotted a reporter from San Diego in the postgame news conference and played a little coy when asked for thoughts on the next opponent.

“I tell you, we’ve got our hands full,” he said. “That’s a very good football team, a well-coached football team, a talented team and so we’re going to try to get by the next 12 hours and then focus on that one.”

Keep in mind that last year Hoke said his SDSU team had its “hands full” before the Aztecs played Nicholls State and won 47-0.

It’s Hoke at his cagey best, never wanting to say anything too revealing about an opponent. Some things never change about him, except the colors he wears on the sideline, now maize and blue instead of red and black.

After Saturday’s game at Michigan Stadium, another reporter asked him about trying to “temper the excitement” with his team after its 3-0 start. Hoke responded by saying all games are tough and then delivered a classic Hokeism to the local media still trying to figure him out:

“We’re a different team,” he said. “I mean yeah, we’ve been there, but we’ve got to improve so much tomorrow — look at film and see maybe we got outleveraged here on this and why. And there’s some urgency things when you’re setting a front and guys get lined up and all those things. And not to get technical stuff, but we’ve just got to go to work. And I’m not the funnest guy in the world like I am today, but Sunday to Friday we’ve got work to do.”

The rough translation is he’s got a job to do. It’s the dream job he’s wanted all along. And so far, it’s a “perfect fit,” as one fan said Saturday. After Michigan fired previous head coach Rich Rodriguez in January, many Wolverines fans weren’t sure about hiring Hoke from SDSU.

“People admired what he did at SDSU, but it wasn’t like it was LSU, Florida or Texas,” said Bobby Raham, a Michigan alumnus. “To a lot of people, he hadn’t proven himself yet. … Then he had his first press conference and everything changed. He sounded like a Michigan football coach.”

Hoke’s biggest impact so far probably has been in re-inspiring the pride of the fan base after three mostly uncomfortable seasons under Rodriguez. It started at Hoke’s introductory news conference on Jan. 12, when he made it clear that Michigan didn’t need to “rebuild” and that Michigan should never expect less than best.

“This is Michigan, for God’s sake,” Hoke said that day.

That phrase — “This is Michigan” — is now emblazoned on banners around the city and on T-shirts worn by fans.

His style — his chronic emphasis on toughness, his hoarse-sounding voice — fits the Midwestern tradition and appetite better than Rodriguez, who figuratively served sushi and seaweed salad compared to Hoke’s T-bone and mashed spuds.

Hoke’s honeymoon period here is helped by the fact that Michigan is undefeated after getting 198 rushing yards and two touchdown passes against EMU from quarterback Denard Robinson. Before Saturday, his team also beat Notre Dame and Western Michigan.

But it’s the rest of the schedule that will show whether Hoke can measure up to the Michigan tradition. Saturday was Hoke’s 100th game as a head coach. With Saturday’s victory, his career record is 50-50, including 13-12 at SDSU. During his time at SDSU, he only beat two teams with winning records, both service academies (Air Force and Navy).

Raham, 27, said the fan base is still getting to know Hoke but is predicting eight wins this year.

“It’s a work in progress,” Raham said. “People will give him time. People just want to see improvement.”